Change your mood, change your kraut!

A light and clean kraut!

I'm feeling light and clean right now and so when it was time to make my latest batch of kraut, I knew I wanted to keep it all green and light this time.  A lot of times I like to add beets or red cabbage and you end up with a red looking kraut, but not this time!

Today I stuck with organic green cabbages, organic granny smith apples, organic onions, organic and biodynamic garlic, organic ginger root, organic dill spices and Celtic salt to make a light, lean kraut.

It never ceases to amaze me how many options there are in kraut making land.  There is never a need to make the exact same kraut twice and really with the differences in temperatures at different times of the year, the fermentation process is always going to be a little different each time.  Somehow the notion, however, that you can change your kraut to suit your mood, almost like making a fashion statement of deciding which scarf or accessory to wear each day is one of endless amusement for me.  Feeling like you need to bulk up?  then make a heavy kraut with beets and richer spices... feeling spicy?  then add extra peppers! 

Perhaps because I have recently been learning about the wisdom of some Ayurvedic principles of understanding that there is a time and place for different foods depending on how your feeling, that using your mood to help you decide what to ferment is an intriguing notion.

Making a tasty and pleasing kraut is as much of an artistic undertaking as painting the perfect picture or penning a powerful poem.  There is an endless palate of flavor, texture, color and olfactory choices.   I'd like to live in a world where people make fashion statements by the kind of kraut they create... perhaps if I plant the seed in your mind you will join me in the quest for the perfect kraut to suit your mood!  Let me know what you decide to make.